by Staff Writer, January 7, 2009
At the prestigious Stirling Award ceremony held in Liverpool on October 11th, Oundle School’s SciTec was shortlisted for two architectural awards, the RIBA/English Partnerships Sustainability Award and the RIBA/Sorrell Foundation Schools Award. SciTec, an £11m state-of-the-art science facility was opened in September 2007.
In the former category SciTec was declared runner-up, one of two projects described as outstanding. In the end, SciTec lost out to the unusual and spectacular Manchester Civil Justice Centre, itself one of six projects shortlisted for the Stirling Prize. In the latter category SciTec lost out to Westminster Academy, Continued…
by Rory Briggs,
Ashton held the 44th World Conker Championship on the 12th October, with over 300 participants aiming to shatter through to the top three. People from across the globe gathered in the small village near Oundle, motivated to be crowned conqueror of the world.
Following a tough and tiresome few hours the victor of the championship claimed the bragging rights. The bookies favourite, Ray Kellock, 62, of Rushden took the men’s title, and Amy Farrow, of Essex, came out champion of the ladies’ title.
Commenting on his magnanimous triumph, Mr.Kellock put the win down to his “Kinetic Energy Theory”.
He said: “I’ve got a scientific mind and it made me think. I decided that it was better to hold my conker Continued…
by Harry Coulthard,
Apethorpe Hall, a renowned Grade I listed 15th century country house set in the rural heart of Northamptonshire, is one of our local jewels. In its prime, the Hall was graced by royalty including James I, Elizabeth I and even Henry VIII. In the past the Hall has been owned by millionaires to whom money was not an issue, but since the late 1970’s the Hall has been empty, allowing damp and decay to undermine the structure to hazardous levels. The Hall is surrounded by beautiful sweeping gardens and vast hedges, all still neatly cropped, because of the heroic efforts of one man.
Were it not for George Keeley, gardener at the Hall for thirty years, one of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture would have fallen far beyond repair. Continued…
by Harry Coulthard, January 1, 2009
After 450 hours of intense labour, three highly detailed carvings have been erected upon the roof of St Peters Church in Oundle. Local craftsman Richard McCrone designed and carved these exquisite four foot high sculptures with his team at St White Stone.
The sculptures are carved from a stone called Ancaster, which is an oolitic limestone mined in Lincolnshire two and a half miles from Ancaster. It is not as hard as many igneous rocks, but far more resilient than other sedimentary rocks.
Continued…
